Supplying-float for drawing sheets of glass.



v New swam.

$UPPLYING- FLOAT FOR DRAWING SHEETS 0F GLASS. APPLIOATIOH FILED MAY 21. 1900.

1720622 for 1277725 763 zzarcauzz' (3 dare: Ja-rm,

PATENTED DEC. 4, 1906.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMILE FOURCAULT, OF LODELINSART, BELGIUM.

SUPPLYING-FLOAT FOR DRAWING SHEETS OF GLASS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 4, 1906.

Annlinatign filed May 21, 1906- Serial N0- 818,043-

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EMILE FOURCAULT, glass manufacturer, a subject of the King of Belgium, residing at Lodelinsart, Belgium, have invented certain new and useful Iinprovements in Supplying-Floats for Drawing Sheets of Glass, of which the following is a specification.

In'my United States Letters Patent No. 717,378, dated December 30, 1902, in order to obtain by drawing a sheet of glass of constant width the feeding must be insured constantly and uniform] r in all the parts of the basis of formation. This result has been obtained with a float provided at its upper part with a long and narrow slot having a constant width. If this float is more or less dipped into the bath of molten glass, a sheet of glass having the required consistency spurts fromthe slot. This sheet is grasped and lifted up slowly by any suitable means for obtaining a continuous sheet of glass which solidifies by cooling, but having a con stant width which is e ual to the length of the slot of the float. he disposition of a slot having a uniform width has, however, a great disadvantage. The edges of the sheet thus drawn are provided with a swelling which is thicker than the rest of-the sheet. Consequently the edges of the sheet are diiiicult or even, impossible to anneal, and the sheetis broken during its drawing or when it is cut with a diamond.

This invention has for its object a supplying-float which prevents these disadvantages.

in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a horizoi'ital view of the supplying-float. Fig; 2 is a transversal section of this float.

The slot in. the float instead of having it constant width is narrowed atits ends, which have a trapezoidal shape. If the ends of the slot have a triangular shape, there is, so to speak, no supply of glass in the acute angle and the glass must be wrenehed by drawing. The edges of the sheet thus obtained are very thin and brittle and they are ve often indented or barbed and not plain. his is due to'the factthat the sheet is not sufliciently supplied with molten glass at the ends of the slot, that this molten glass adheres to the sides of the slot, and cannot be undone by the ascending molten glass. The resenee of a light swelling is, however, in ispensable for insuring a good drawing of the sheet. The swellin s constitute at the basis of the sheet two ii 5 which are more rigid than the rest ofjthe sheet, preventing the sheet from contracting or creasing on its width durin the drawing; The best results are obtaine ii'the ends a:- x of the slot have the shape of a trapezium. The length of the little base I) of this trapezium is the two-thirds ofthe width l of the slot or of the great base of the tragiczium. The height h of the trapezium is ve to six inches.

Havin thus described and ascertained the natureo my invention and in what manner the same maybe performed, I declare that 1. A supplying-float for drawing a continuous sheet of glass having a slot the ends of which are tapered and have the shape of a' trapezium, substantially as described.

2. A supplying-float for drawing a continuous sheet of glass having a slot-with the ends of less width than the i11terrned.a'tep01'- tion thereof.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EMILE FOURCAULT. Witnesses Airmen REGNIERS,

IJEOPULD BASTIN. 

